California mammals

Baja pocket mouse in California

Chaetodipus rudinoris

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY 4.0Baja pocket mouse foraging on sandy ground at nightPhoto: MarvalPhotography19 · CC BY 4.0Baja pocket mouse on leaf litter at night, showing large eyes and ears

Photo: Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY 4.0Baja pocket mouse foraging on sandy ground at nightPhoto: MarvalPhotography19 · CC BY 4.0Baja pocket mouse on leaf litter at night, showing large eyes and ears

Baja pocket mouse in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 210th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

11 occurrence records

2 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Baja pocket mouse in California

Most sightings fall in September.

11 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly California records (table)

Month	Records
January	0
February	0
March	3
April	2
May	1
June	0
July	0
August	0
September	5
October	0
November	0
December	0

Monthly baja pocket mouse occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in California; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Baja pocket mouse has been recorded in California

11 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

11 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Joshua Tree National Park	3

Protected places with the most baja pocket mouse sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

County	Records
Riverside County	7
San Diego County	3
San Bernardino County	1

The complete county distribution, spread across 3 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Baja pocket mouse records in California fit coastal sage scrub and sandy desert-edge ground.

Reports center on San Diego County and the nearby Peninsular Ranges. They show where people have documented the species, and they don’t rank California’s best habitat.

California records span more than one season. Gaps and clusters in reports can reflect when and where people looked, not true absence or abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Baja pocket mouse Chaetodipus rudinoris Size 10.9 cm4.3 in Weight 29 g1 oz Lifespan Up to 4 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"